Weekend Read: Getting Rid of Bootstrapping’s Bad Rap

Apr 3, 2015 5:41 pm ET

John Roa, founder and CEO of ÄKTA: One popular myth about startups is that you need external capital to experience rapid and high growth. But contrary to what you may have been told, entrepreneurs can actually yield exponential returns on their investment if they decide to bootstrap. Bootstrapping gets a bad rap because most people are risk-averse and will find the idea of bringing in investors to help shoulder the financial burden more appealing. However, people who are comfortable taking risks, upon looking closer at what external funding entails, may not find the capitalization model very enticing. Sharing key decision-making roles, creative control, profits and overall ownership of your company go against the reasons why anyone would want to start their own business in the first place. …